Screenshot of The Krypton Factor

The Krypton Factor

(TV Games, 1987)

Reviewed by Piero Serra

The Krypton Factor was a UK television game show that ran from the 1970s to the 1990s. It was a test of mental and physical prowess, with games played in the studio or outside on an assault course, and was famed for how tough it was. The CPC version starts well with a nice tune and digitised faces for the contestants. The first test is a number puzzle, which gets hard very quickly. The next event is a spot-the-differences affair, in which a very long and boring story scrolls slowly by twice, while you look at two pictures. It’s not much fun and extremely difficult. Later games include joystick waggling events to test your ‘physical agility’. The presentation throughout is stylish but, compared to similar brain-training games which became popular in later years, The Krypton Factor is too dry and unforgiving.

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Screenshot of Kubmic

Kubmic

(Futur Antérieur, 2013)

Reviewed by Missas

Kubmic is a puzzle game where you have to slide coloured tiles on a 5×5 grid to recreate the pattern shown. It is an interesting idea and it is quite popular on many websites. Thanks to Crackers Velus it has arrived on the CPC. To begin with, the graphics are in Mode 0 and include vividly coloured squares, but the background is just a black void. They could have added some interesting pictures instead. The in-game music is really good and atmospheric and you will not get bored of it. The gameplay is really interesting as it should be for a good puzzle game. This is not a surprise because this game is being played by a lot of people on the Internet. Thus the grab factor is very strong. Overall, another great puzzle game for the CPC.

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Screenshot of Kung Fu

Kung Fu

(Amstrad Action/Ocean, 1986)

Reviewed by Pug

This is a kung fu simulator of sorts where you develop your skill and thus earn the appropriate belt. The actual moves available appear limited and collision detection is often hit and miss. The martial artists on the screen look crude but they move and animate in a smooth manner. All of the surrounding graphics look a little bland, but a pleasant tune does play throughout. This isn’t a game you would want to show off to your friends, especially when there are better games of this genre available.

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Screenshot of Kung-Fu Master

Kung-Fu Master

(US Gold, 1986)

Reviewed by Chris Lennard

In this all out action beat-’em-up, you have to rescue your woman from some evil swine’s clutches. Kick and punch your way up through five floors of his base confronted by numerous minions. These range from simple henchmen, to killer bees, dragons, knifemen and cunning midgets. You also have to defeat ever tougher guardians before you can progress to the next level. Despite its appearence, this is no simple game and it requires a fair amount of skill and luck to get near the finish which is almost nigh-on impossible. It’s also less faithful to the arcade game than other 8-bit versions, but it remains a highly enjoyable romp.

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Screenshot of Kwah!

Kwah!

(Melbourne House, 1986)

Reviewed by Greig McGregor

The plot revolves around our unlikely superhero, Kevin, who seems to be a journalist. Your aim is to find out what happened to you before you lost your memory in the prequel to this game, Redhawk. At the start of the game, all you have is a press pass and a tape recorder. This is a text adventure that also sports some ace comic book-style graphics; however, the sound is very sparse. All the usual text adventure commands are present, but one of the more interesting ones is KWAH! Say this, and Kevin transforms into his alter ego Redhawk. One of the strengths of this game lies in its comic book-style graphics, but the plot is very linear and you have to follow it to the letter in order to complete the game.

See also: Redhawk.

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Screenshot of Kwik Snax

Kwik Snax

(Code Masters, 1990)

The wizard Zaks has imprisoned four members of the Yolkfolk on four different islands, and you have to rescue them. Each island consists of several sub-levels where you have to eat all the fruit. The monsters are removed by pushing blocks around, but they’ll reappear after a short time. There’s also a bonus level where again you must collect as much fruit as you can, but this time, the floor is made of ice! This game is OK and I like the graphics very much, as well as the cool music, but like most of the other Dizzy arcade games, it’s far too easy and it won’t take much time for you to complete it.

See also: Bubble Dizzy, Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy Down the Rapids, Dizzy Panic, Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, Fantasy World Dizzy, Fast Food, Magicland Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy.

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Screenshot of KYA

KYA

(Loriciels, 1987)

Reviewed by Robert Small

  • Knowledge of French is required in order to play this game properly.

KYA stands for Keep Yourself Alive. It’s an incredibly apt name for this little game. You’re placed into a single-screen maze. Chucked in there with you are both a primary opponent and various other little droids, all intent on whittling down your energy reserves. But that’s not all, as you’ll need to keep an eye on your supply of ammunition and the layout of the maze itself, as it can both deplete and replenish energy and produce ricochets. Graphically it’s a simple game with blocky Mode 0 graphics, but that’s good, because this game zips about. The expected sound effects are included. The game also comes with a level editor, which is a good bonus. Add some human opponents and you have a good deathmatch game.

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